Prescott to Sedona, AZ

After our brutally hot hike up Picacho Peak, we decide to escape the heat in southern Arizona and head for the mountains to the north, between Pheonix and Flagstaff. We stay just outside of Cottonwood for a few nights and travel to our destinations because mountain roads will not allow travel with our trailer in tow.

Granite Dells at Watson Lake near Prescott

Watson Lake near Prescott is a reservoir within an area known as the Granite Dells. These strangely eroded granite cliffs are made all the more beautiful by the clear water.

The lake is a popular water recreation area. People are kayaking, paddle boarding and boating with electric motors. No swimming is allowed because it is a reservoir for residents' household water.

The dam at the end of the lake. A trail leads around the entire lake, up and over the rocky formations, but we hike only to the dam and back to the parking lot, a total distance of perhaps just over one mile.

Many water birds (ducks, cootes and herons) enjoy the lake and these still coves.

Jerome - Once a copper mining town then reduced to a mere ghost town after the depression, Jerome is now a vibrant tourist destination boasting art galleries with local works.

Jerome's most famous landmark - The Grand Hotel. Originally a hospital, the restored building sits high atop Cleopatra Hill overlooking the entire valley and the city of Cottonwood.

Looking out from the hotel parking lot, we can see across the valley to the red rock hillsides of Sedona and the snow-capped San Fransisco Mountains outside of Flagstaff to the north.

Me outside the lobby entrance of The Grand Hotel.

Just down the street from the hotel is "The Surgeon's House", now a B and B. With the same view as the hotel, we can only imagine how relaxing it would be to sit on the patio here enjoying happy hour.

Sedona

Since we only have one day to explore Sedona, we decide on an easy hike up Fay Canyon. Ten years ago, at the end of the maintained one mile trail, the underside of this rock face fell into the canyon some 30 feet below where Brad is standing.

Typical us, we scramble past the rock fall and find a narrow foot path that skims along the edge of this cliff. We have a picnic lunch enjoying the solitude.

Brad looking down Fay Canyon.

A strange rock formation along the main trail in Fay Canyon.

Brad atop Fay Arch (the black arrow is pointing to him), accessed by a small trail branching off the main trail and not signed. The sheer size of the cliff face is certainly impressive.

Brad at the viewpoint at the top of Airport Road, overlooking the city of Sedona. Buildings are hard to see because they are intentionally built to blend into the red rock surroundings.